If you are expecting a sombre, gothic retelling of Bram Stoker's classic, you have come to the wrong crypt. Co-written by Dan Patterson (Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and director Jez Bond, Dracapella unfolds on the fuel of nothing but human voices—a thrilling collision of harmony, beatboxing, and vampiric farce.
The premise is a gleefully silly retelling of the Dracula legend. When the hapless Harker (Stephen Ashfield) sets off to Transylvania to sell a crumbling castle to a mysterious client, he doesn't expect to wind up in a geometric love tangle involving his wife Mina (Lorna Want), her best friend Lucy, and one very melodramatic Count.
The production is delivered with electrifying precision by world champion beatboxer Alex Hackett (aka ABH) and company. Together, they detonate bold, reimagined renditions of classic rock anthems, from Queen's Somebody to Love to the ever-thumping Eye of the Tiger. Ian Oakley's musical direction and vocal arrangements are, quite simply, superb, building an entire sound world—from thunderclaps to horse hooves—live on stage.
Visually, the show embraces a scrappy, inventive charm. A stage strewn with wooden crates continuously shapeshifts before our eyes, becoming an endlessly surprising parade of props and settings. The comedy lands in rapid, delirious bursts—farcical and razor-sharp. Given Patterson's background, it is no surprise that the dialogue has a spontaneous energy; delivered with such sleek precision that the not-actually-improvised “improvisation” becomes a delicious trick of its own.
The cast flip characters at breakneck speed, aided only by a haphazard wardrobe of grab-and-go costumes, and the effect is riotous. Ako Mitchell anchors the madness as a suave and soulful Dracula, while the ensemble—including Ciarán Dowd, Philip Pope, and Monique Ashe-Palmer—shine in a variety of unhinged roles.
However, it is Keala Settle (The Greatest Showman) who perhaps steals the show as the unfortunate Lucy. She distinguishes herself not only with her expected powerhouse vocals but with disarming humility and a wholehearted ensemble spirit.
Slick, hilarious, inventive, and unexpectedly smart, this production holds you captive from start to finish. If you're craving something genuinely different—a night of laughter and something joyously innovative—book your ticket now.
It runs until 17 January.
Review: Jason Lane Phptp: Craig Sugden